The first three months of 2024 was another busy year for the space industry, underscored by continued growth in SpaceX’s launch cadence and a solid VC funding environment. Below are the four charts defining the quarter.
The Earth observation market is refocusing efforts on profitability, government funding, and addressing niche issues, as commercial demand has not yet materialized to the extent many anticipated.
Telesat ($TSAT), a Canadian satcom provider, announced it received a loan proposal of $2.1B CAD ($1.6B) from the Canadian government to help finance its 198-bird Lightspeed LEO constellation.
Japanese lunar lander startup ispace has raised $8.1B yen ($53.5M) in a stock sale to help fund its third spacecraft.
NASA’s SBIR funding—particularly its Phase I & II tracks—has become a vital source of non-dilutive capital for early-stage space startups. At the same time, it has gained a reputation for coming up short in delivering on its larger Phase III programmatic contracts, leaving companies to navigate the “valley of death.”
The Texas Space Commission announced its inaugural board of directors yesterday at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, which includes a who’s who of industry and academia.
Touchdown on the Moon, collect millions of dollars—that’s how Monopoly, space edition is played. We don’t make the rules.
We have entered the Starship era.
SpeQtral is teaming up with Antaris to develop quantum-safe satellites that keep data and communications secure, the companies announced today.
On SpaceX’s 22nd birthday, Starship put on a show.
NASA is on pace to exceed $100B of Artemis funding by FY26, according to nominal dollar data from OIG, NASA budgets, and Payload analysis. The program—which has penciled in its first crewed lunar landing by 2026—is one of the most expensive in NASA history. The enormous costs largely accrue to development of the mission’s vehicle. […]
